Snowflake in the Sea

The Song in the Grotto

Elsa and Breaker eventually reached the undersea castle. It was a sight to behold; a giant structure of golden coral that twisted and swirled together into a complex architectural masterpiece, with glistening pearls lining the clear, amber windows. Elsa would've been interested in visiting Atlantica just to explore its intricate towers and bridges under better circumstances, but the only thing on her mind while following the dolphin to the gates of the palace was to find someone who would help her get back home as soon as possible.

"Well, here we are," said Breaker, "King Triton's castle."

"I really can't thank you enough for your help," Elsa told the dolphin.

"Anything for a fellow marine mammal," Breaker replied. "Anyway, I'm sure there are a few merpeople still here despite it being so late, I heard that some had offered to stay and help clean up when the celebration was canceled. I'll go check with the Swordfish Patrol."

"May I stay here and wait while you do that?" Elsa asked. "I want to look around while I still can."

"Sure thing," Breaker nodded before he swam off. "If you see any merfolk, signal me and I'll come right away to make sure they're able to help you."

"I will," Elsa promised. She then watched Breaker disappear past a coral archway.

The lost princess was mesmerized by how the coral clustered together into its magnificent structure, and glistened with a unique kind of bioluminescence. Elsa wondered whether the castle was created by magic, or if its coral walls simply grew together naturally. Curiosity almost tempted her to swim through the gates and take a closer look.

Suddenly, Elsa looked up and spotted a mermaid swimming out one of the windows, carrying a small travel bag and accompanied by a yellow fish. They looked like they were trying not to be seen, glancing around before swimming off in the direction that Elsa and Breaker had originally come from. Elsa flipped through the water to try and catch the dolphin's attention when she saw him talking to a pair of swordfish nearby. She even attempted to signal him by sending off a cluster of blue snowflakes.

Breaker couldn't see her; she was out of his line of sight.

Since there were no other merpeople in sight for Elsa to approach and she didn't want to waste any time waiting for another to pass by, she decided to follow them on her own in hopes that they might be willing to help her.

It was at that moment that Breaker turned away from his talk with the Swordfish Patrol and became aware that Elsa had disappeared. The dolphin quickly swam over to the spot where he had last seen the seal, and he found only a small pile of snowflakes lying in the sand.

"That's unusual," Breaker commented, "but where's Elsa?"

As if on cue, the dolphin looked up and noticed the seal swimming after a mermaid that Breaker recognized. Breaker was relieved that his new friend was going to be in good fins, but his attention shifted when he noticed a sinister pair of moray eels nearby. They appeared to be watching Elsa with great interest as if they were stalking the seal as their prey in a hunt.

"Not on my watch!"

Breaker had a hunch that those eels were up to no good, especially since he recalled that his friend Harold was following a pair of eels the last time he was seen. He was not taking any chances on letting them do to the poor seal whatever they had done to his friend.

The dolphin immediately torpedoed towards the eels and began racing circles around them. Soon, the grotesque sea snakes were getting tangled up in each other's tails and had imaginary fishbones dancing around their heads. Once they recovered, the eels glared at Breaker with a boiling rage at losing sight of their prey.